Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Ministry of National Defense (MND) held Promotion Inspection Meeting
Aiming at achieving 95% within the current government term
Performance evaluation by task and roadmap inspection

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has announced that it will achieve 95% of the goals laid out in the Defense Reform 2.0 initiative within the current government term, which means that most of the reform tasks will be completed, with the exception of some long-term tasks such as the construction of some military power and the establishment of military facilities.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced these goals at a Defense Reform 2.0 Promotion Inspection Meeting hosted by Minister Suh Wook in the main conference room on January 6.

This meeting was arranged to conduct an in-depth evaluation of the progress in meeting the goals of Defense Reform 2.0 that the current government has been implementing over the past four years, and to review the roadmap to completing the reform.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, the first meeting held in 2022 after the replacement of major positions at the general and colonel levels was attended only by a minimum number of military personnel, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chiefs of staff of each military, the head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, MND staff at the Director level, and defense reform advisors.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced that after “evaluating the achievements of the four-year implementation of Defense Reform 2.0, it reaffirmed that our military has made integrated efforts to ‘early realize a strong military that supports the peace and prosperity of Republic of Korea (ROK) with its power.’ Through a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the performance, the average progress of the reform tasks accomplished was 87% compared to the final goal as of the end of 2021.”

At the meeting, issues such as the achievements in each area of Defense Reform 2.0, including military structure reform, defense operation and barracks culture reform, and defense business reform, were introduced. The Ministry of National Defense (MND)　visualized the ‘transition to an effective unit structure for advanced science and technology-based combat,’ and evaluated that it had accomplished a reorganization and innovation of the operating system focused on the defense personnel structure around operations and battles.

Also, the MND has created an environment to strengthen the competitiveness of the defense industry and lay the foundation for innovations in the barracks culture, including improving human rights, welfare, and service conditions, fulfilling a need of the public.

Minister Suh said that the ROK military has laid the firm foundation that is needed for it to be reborn as an elite army by strongly promoting Defense Reform 2.0 over the past four years, adding, “I would like to congratulate all of military personnel who have dedicated themselves to the successful implementation of defense reform.” He also emphasized, “We all should keep in mind that if we remain content with our current performance, our national defense power will not be maintained, but will inevitably deteriorate. Furthermore, we should continue to maintain the driving force behind defense reform to build a strong military in the future. I believe that the Moon Jae-in government has achieved remarkable results in diverse fields through Defense Reform 2.0,” later adding, “The ‘defense reform’ that was initiated in 2005 was a goal of previous governments, but unfortunately its implementation was delayed for multiple reasons.”

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) plans to systematically deal with the progress of Defense Reform 2.0 and strengthen strategic communication inside and outside the military.

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >

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